"Mr. Drake—tell me what I owe you? I want to know what I owe you," he said desperately.
"Owe? Nothing."
"But the pool?"
"Well, what about the pool?" said Drake, eyeing him closely.
"The pool to sell Pittsburgh & New Orleans."
"Who said anything about selling!" said Drake sharply. "The pool's all right." He looked at him a long moment, and the boyish triumph, suppressed too long, broke out with the memory of Fontaine's visit. "I bought control of Pittsburgh & New Orleans at eleven o'clock this morning and sold it ten minutes ago, for what I paid for it, plus—plus a little profit of ten million dollars." He paused long enough to let this sink into the consciousness of the reeling young man and added, smiling: "On a pro rata basis, Tom, your fifty thousand stands you in just a quarter of a million. I congratulate you."
CHAPTER XV
SUDDEN WEALTH
"Your fifty thousand stands you in just a quarter of a million."